Application of sections of material to running webs



April 3, 1941- J. SHACKLETON 2,237,917

APPLICATION OF SECTIONS" OF MATERIAL T0 RUNNING WEBS Filed Sept. 16, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lNVENTOR JACK SHACKLE I,

mmmm April 9 J. SHACKLETON 2,237,917

APPLICATICN 0F SECTIONS OF MATERIAL T0 RUNNING WEBS Filer; Sept. 16, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JACK SHACKLETON BY Patented Apr. 8, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPLICATION OF SECTIONS OF MATERIAL TO RUNNING WEBS Jack Shackleton, London, England, assignor to American Machine & Foundry Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jcrsey Application September 16, 1937, Serial No. 164,143 In Great Britain September 29, 1936 (C1. M le-36) 3 Claims.

terial is severed in the desired lengths from a continuous web or supply reel and the sections are fed in spaced relation to the mechanism by which they are applied to the running cigarette paper web. When dealing withfrail tipping substances such as so-called gold tipping, it is the practice to provide a backing such as paper and both backing and gold tipping may be applied to the, cigarette web. When, however, it isdesired to apply the gold tipping alone, diiiiculties arise owing to the frail nature thereof as the tension put on the leaf in feeding it to the severing means causes frequent breakages.

An object of thepresent invention is to provide an improved method of and means for feeding the gold tipping. or like frail webs to. the severing means whereby breakages thereof are substantially eliminated.

A further object is to provide meansfor accommodating the backing as it is removed from the gold tippingvveb.

Further objects will app-ear hereinafter.

According to the invention the gold or like tipping or other frail web is separated from the backing web at a position in front of the feeding rolls and the backing passes through the feed rolls so that the backing alone is subjected to the pressure of the feed rolls and the tension in the web due to the feed.

The separation of the Web from the backing may be effected by a thin wafer steel stripper.

Preferably the feed is arranged generally in the manner disclosedin (En) Shackleton 46%,- 161, i. e. the backed tipping web is drawn continuously from a supply reel and the feed to the knife or cut-off is intermittent, so that the tipping material is stationary during the severing.

According to a further feature the backing web is rewound on a spindle or drum driven from the supply reel, the drive permitting a slip as the rewound web increases in diameter.

The feed rolls operating upon the backing web are preferably arranged so thatthe speed of the Webmay be adjustedwhile the web is .running. This may be effected by forming one roll slightly conical and mounting the companion pressure roll so that it may be adjusted. lengthwise of the conicalroll to gripthe web at varying diameters.

Further features of invention will be hereinaiter described and defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1a is a front view of a cigarette :web tipping mechanism according to the invention with the backing web re-reeling and supplying means omitted.

Fig. 1b is a side elevation of the supplying and re-reeling mechanism for-the backing 15.

Figure 2 is a cross section of the backing web re-reeling means.

Figure 3 is a sectional plan of the speed adjusting means for feeding theweb.

Figure 4 is a plan of the lateral adjusting guide means for the tipping web.

In carrying the invention int-o effect. according to one convenient mode, as applied to a tipping mechanism of the character described in Br.) Shackleton 464,161, the tipping Web ID comprising a web of gold or like frail material and a backing web, is drawn continuously in an upward direction from a supply reel II by a pair of continuously driven feeding .means comprising a driven feed roll 12 and a pressure roll l3 which is mounted on a spring-controlled pivotal arm 14. The backing web 15 alone passes between the feed rolls [2 and I3 and thence downwardly to a rewinding means It. Thefrail tipping web IT is separated from the backing web as the latter turns around the'feed .roll. I2, the frail web continuing upwardly and-over a guide roll l8 and thence downwardly past-aguide roll 28 to form a free loop lla.

By separating the frail web 11 from the back ing I5 at this pointno tension is imparted-to the web H from the feed rolls as all the tension is takenby the backing web l5. Moreover, no pressure is exerted upon theirail web ll so that such is not marked.

The separated frail web passes onfrom the free loop to a pair of intermittently'operated feed rolls l9 and 20 which feed it to a cutting device 2| by whichsections 0f the desired. length are severed and thence delivered to the running cigarette web 22- and applied thereto.

The loop Ha in the frail web compensates :for the intermittent feed of the leading: edge-of the frail web and the continuous feed from the supply;

The loop Ha maybe retained in a taut condition by a guide roll Ztcarriedby a lever 24, which is loaded to take up. the variations in the length of the loop owing to the intermittent feed at the severing point.

It is preferred to provide a spring loading 29 for the take up roll 23 as such will automatically exert a varying tension as the length of the web loop varies due to the difference in the speed of the continuously operating feed rolls and the intermittent feed rolls.

In order to deal with the backing I removed from the tipping web II, the backing is rewound on a suitable spindle or drum 25. According to the present invention, the rewind spindle is driven from the supply reel H by means of a suitable belt drive 2'1 which will allow a slip to occur. The belt may be open or closed according to the relative rotary movements of the supply reel and the rewind spindle. The rotation of the supply reel II is caused by the feed rolls l2 and I3 in drawing off the web Ill from the supply so that the speed of rotation of the rewind spindle 25 will always be in accordance with the speed at which the web is taken from the supply. As the rewound web grows, necessitating a difference in the relatively rotary speeds of the reels, accommodation will be afforded by a slipping of the belt drive 21.

In addition to the driving band 21, brake bands Ml and ll are provided for the spools but the band 4| is not required during re-reeling of the backing web.

The mean length of the web loop Ila should preferably be maintained substantially constant, but it sometimes occurs that the length of loop will vary to a considerable extent and in order to compensate for such variation means are provided for varying the speed of the feed rolls 12, I3.

The pressure roll l3 comprises a ball race which is mounted upon a sliding bearing to which an adjusting nut 3| is fastened. The nut 3| is screwed up a fixed spindle 32 so that by turning the nut the pressure roll I3 is adjusted axially of the spindle.

The adjustment of the pressure roll 13 along the driven roll 12 is preferably effected manually as above described as such adjustment will only be required occasionally, Obviously, however, automatic means may be provided for adjusting the pressure roll by means associated with the loop roll 23.

It is appreciated that the tipping web has to occupy a predetermined lateral position with regard to the running cigarette paper web 22 so that the sections of tipping web are applied correctly to the cigarette web, and it is found, particularly when dealing with frail tipping web, that the usual adjustable trough guide is not altogether satisfactory as the tipping web has insufficient lateral stiffness. In order to overcome this dificulty an improved lateral guiding means is provided which comprises a flanged guide roller 33 over which the tipping web passes. This guide roller is non-rotatable and is arranged so that there may be a slight deviation in the path of the web so that the web passes over the guide roller in a fiat condition. Only one flange 34 is found necessary and the guide roller is adjustable axially so that the flange engages the appropriate edge of the web. The roller 33 is mounted for axial adjustment on a fixed spindle at the outer end of which an adjusting nut 35 is provided.

A spring 36 holds the roller up to the nut 35. The guide roll 42 for the backed web I0 may also be provided with a single flange 43 and be mounted for axial adjustment.

In view of the fact that only one flange 34 is provided it is preferred to mount the web so that it has an initial bias towards the flange so that any necessary adjustment is effected by moving the flange 34 in a direction away from the web.

Instead of a complete flanged roll 33 only a segment may be provided or an arcuate member having a flange at one end thereof.

The severed sections of tipping material are secured upon the cigarette web 22 and are pressed thereon by means 38 which are no part of the present invention, but form the subject-matter ofthe (Br.) Shackleton 476,198.

Another feature according to the invention is concerned with the pasting means whereby paste or gum or the like is applied to the cigarette paper web. The gum or the like is transferred to a dauber roll 36 by an intermediate transfer roll 31 which according to the invention is provided with a non-resilient surface, metallic or otherwise.

The various parts are mounted upon one face of a plate or support 39, suitable gearing being located on the reverse side of the plate.

Whilst the invention has been described in connection with a mechanism having the characteristics of that described in (Br.) Shackleton 464,161, certain features may be applied to other tipping web mechanisms. Moreover, certain features alone or in combination may be applied to tipping webs other than those of the unbackecl frail type referred to herein.

When the mechanism is to be used with a tipping material that has no backing, such as cork tipping, it will be appreciated that the web will pass between the feed rolls l2, l3 and thence over the guide 28 to form the loop.

I claim:

1. In mechanism for applying sections of frail material such as gold tipping, forming a component of a composite web having a backing Web component, to a running web such as a cigarette wrapper web, devices for handling said composite web and running web comprising means to support a supply roll of said composite web, and means to lead it to a separating station, means for separating the frail web from said composite web and for leading it to a tipping station, a rewinding roll, and means for leading said backing web component exclusively thereto, web feeding devices also acting exclusively upon said backing web component and whereby the latter only is subject to the pressure of said feed and the tension in the web due to said feed, devices to lead said running web continuously to a tipping station, devices to lead and to feed said frail web intermittently to a severing station, means to sever tips serially from the leading end of said frail web and to lead the tips individually at proper intervals into the range of movement of said running web at said tipping station, and mechanism to apply said tips to said running web at said tipping station and to lead the tipped running web continuously therefrom.

2. Mechanism for handling a composite web having the features claimed in claim 1, wherein said feeding devices for the backing web component include a pair of feed rolls, and said devices for feeding and leading said frail web include a guide roll adapted to provide a lap of the frail web which separates from the backing web in a direction tangential to one roll of said pair of feed rolls, and another roll of said pair of contacting feed rolls being angularly displaced from said tangential delivery point around the circumference of the first-named feed roll of said pair, acting to bend said backing web exclusively around the first-named feed roll to promote smooth and complete separation of the backing Web from the frail web, means including a weighted arm, to form in the separated frail web a reserve loop changing in length and constituting a supply of said frail web available to be drawn ofl? intermittently under yielding tension; and another pair of feed rolls acting to forward said supply of the separated frail web intermittently into the bite of another set of devices constructed and arranged to part tip forming sections from the frail web, and means to adhere the tips to said running web at distances adjusted to the requirements of the eventual package size.

3. In mechanism as claimed in claim 1, a rewinding spool for the backing web exclusively, and a belt drive for driving said spool from the supply spool, said belt drive being arranged to permit slipping as the spool of rewound backing web increases in diameter, a coiled spring brake band adapted to apply friction to said rewind spool at times other than during the rewinding of the backing web, said rewinding spool thus deriving its actuation from rotation of said composite web supply spool and the latter being r0- tated by draft upon the backing component web by its feed roll, whereby said supply roll and rewinding roll are at all times actuated at appropriate speeds relatively to said feed roll,

JACK SHACKLETON. 

